Cook Inlet Energy executive says well tests exceed expectations

David Hall said in a release that his company expects the well, on the west side of Cook Inlet, will surpass the previous production estimate of 750 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The Peninsula Clarion reports the well averaged 883 barrels of oil equivalent per day during a 96-hour period. A statement of discovery received by the state Division of Oil and Gas showed 121.7 barrels of oil flowed from the well during a three-hour test Nov. 25.

Sword No. 1 is the first of two wells planned near the West McArthur River Field. Cook Inlet Energy began its drilling at the well in June.

The company, in a November press release, said Sword No. 1 was currently producing from the Hemlock oil zone. But the company said well completion was designed to allow for testing and production through additional oil and gas zones.

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has tentatively scheduled a public hearing in January for the company’s application to combine production from two reservoirs in the Sword No. 1 well.

Cathy Foerster, one of three commissioners on the panel, said proper reservoir management includes keeping track of production from individual reservoirs. She said the commission doesn’t usually allow operators to commingle, or produce from two reservoirs at the same time, though she said if the commission believes commingling is the best option for production, it will relax the rule.

Possible reasons for combining reservoirs could include that it provides the best production or the reservoirs are small and it wouldn’t be economically feasible to produce them separately, she said.

If nobody objects to the company’s request and the commission’s staff has enough information to make a recommendation, Foerster said the hearing would likely be vacated.